Name: Parihuela limeña
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 95 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 650 g firm boneless white fish, cut into six thick portions; 270 g raw peeled shrimp, deveined and refrigerated; 220 g cleaned squid, cut into short rings; 250 g cleaned mussel meat, refrigerated, from approved supplier; 1600 ml unsalted fish stock, cold, ready to use; 220 g red onion, finely diced; 280 g tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 70 g ají panca paste, unsweetened; 20 g garlic, minced; 60 g celery, finely sliced; 30 ml vegetable oil, for sofrito; 20 g fresh coriander, chopped; 60 ml lime juice, fresh, for finish; 10 g fine salt, weighed; 2 g ground cumin, for sofrito; 2 g black pepper, ground

Yield 6 portions

Prep 40 minutes

Cook 55 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 95 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Parihuela limeña — step-by-step recipe

Parihuela limeña is a boldly seasoned coastal soup, with more body and tomato-chile character than a delicate clear fish consommé. Its flavour begins in a patient onion, garlic, tomato and ají panca base.

Lima seafood cooks use many combinations of fish, shellfish and crustaceans. Fish stock strengthens this bowl without requiring the cook to simmer raw fish heads or uncleaned shellfish at home. The fish, shrimp, squid and mussels here are defined so each can be introduced at an appropriate moment.

Overcooking is the main danger to the eating quality. The savoury broth needs time; the seafood does not. Simmer the sauce base first and add fish before the quicker-cooking shellfish, finishing with coriander and lime only once cooking is nearly over.

Ingredients

650 g firm boneless white fish, cut into six thick portions
270 g raw peeled shrimp, deveined and refrigerated
220 g cleaned squid, cut into short rings
250 g cleaned mussel meat, refrigerated, from approved supplier
1600 ml unsalted fish stock, cold, ready to use
220 g red onion, finely diced
280 g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
70 g ají panca paste, unsweetened
20 g garlic, minced
60 g celery, finely sliced
30 ml vegetable oil, for sofrito
20 g fresh coriander, chopped
60 ml lime juice, fresh, for finish
10 g fine salt, weighed
2 g ground cumin, for sofrito
2 g black pepper, ground

Method

Prepare cold seafood.Check all 650 g fish, 270 g shrimp, 220 g squid and 250 g mussel meat for shell fragments; cut and chill separately while preparing vegetables. The seafood is clean, cold, and ready to enter the soup in separate batches. Buy seafood from a reliable refrigerated source and keep it chilled.
Build the red sofrito.In a broad soup pot heat 30 ml oil and soften 220 g onion, 60 g celery and 20 g garlic for 8 minutes; add 70 g ají panca, 280 g tomatoes, 2 g cumin and 2 g pepper and cook for 12 minutes. The tomato collapses and the chile mixture becomes glossy without sticking.
Develop the broth.Pour in all 1600 ml fish stock, bring to a controlled simmer and cook 15 minutes. The broth turns red-orange, smells fragrant and remains liquid rather than thick like a sauce.
Poach the fish.Slide the 650 g fish portions into the simmering broth and cook 7 minutes without vigorous boiling. Fish pieces hold their shape and start to flake at the edges. Probe thick portions to 63 °C before serving.
Add shrimp and squid.Add the 270 g shrimp and 220 g squid, then simmer gently for 6 minutes. Shrimp are firm and pearly, while squid is cooked through without rubbery overboiling. Do not taste the broth using utensils that handled raw shellfish.
Warm mussels and finish.Add 250 g cleaned mussel meat and 10 g salt, simmer 7 minutes; turn off heat and stir in 20 g coriander and 60 ml lime juice. Mussels and the rest of the seafood are fully hot and opaque; lime remains noticeable rather than cooked away. Discard any seafood with off odours; thoroughly cook shellfish.
Serve the soup.Divide fish and different shellfish among six bowls and ladle the broth over them immediately. Each bowl has separate fish and shellfish pieces in a generous volume of hot broth.

Practical

Practical guidance

Serving. Portion a mix of seafood into each bowl and add lime at the end, not during the long broth simmer. Shopping. Buy fish and shellfish from suppliers that maintain refrigeration. Cleaned mussel meat avoids relying on whole-shell opening cues. Storage. Cool and refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours at 4 °C or below, for up to 3–4 days; reheat to 74 °C. Seafood texture will be firmer after reheating. Seafood mix. Other fish and shellfish are common in parihuela, but replacements need corresponding cooking and allergen changes; preserve this mixture for a predictable result.

Control points

Shellfish turns toughThe soup was boiled hard after the seafood went in. Keep it at a small simmer and serve as soon as cooked.
Broth tastes flatThe tomato and chile base was not cooked long enough. Develop it before pouring in the fish stock.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Serving size1 of 6 generous portions
Calories340 kcal
Carbohydrates12 g
Protein49 g
Fat11 g
Fibre2 g
Sodium930 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains fish, crustaceans (shrimp) and molluscs (squid and mussels). Keep seafood refrigerated and cook fish to 63 °C; shellfish must be cooked through. Keep uncooked animal products away from food that is ready to serve. Wash utensils and hands after raw handling. Cool leftovers promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate at 4 °C or below within 2 hours, use within 3–4 days and reheat leftovers to 74 °C.

Closing

Result: The bowl should have a substantial red broth and seafood pieces that retain their own textures.
Key control: Cook the sofrito thoroughly, then add fish and shellfish in a short, controlled sequence.

Parihuela limeña — step-by-step recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients

Method

Practical

Practical guidance

Control points

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

Patarashca de gamitana

Patasca moqueguana

Inchicapi de gallina loretano